TOUCHES OF NATURE a 
swallow the garter snake, and he had made some 
headway, though the little snake was fighting every 
inch of the ground, hooking his tail about sticks 
and bushes, and pulling back with all his might, 
apparently not liking the look of things down there 
at all. I thought it well to let him have a good 
taste of his own doctrines, when I put my foot 
down against further proceedings. 
This arming of one creature against another is 
often cited as an evidence of the wisdom of Nature, 
but it is rather an evidence of her impartiality. She 
does not care a fig more for one creature than for 
another, and is equally on the side of both, or per- 
haps it would be better to say she does not care a 
fig for either. Every creature must take its chances, 
and man is no exception. We can ride if we know 
how and are going her way, or we can be run over 
if we fall or make a mistake. Nature does not care 
whether the hunter slay the beast or the beast the 
hunter; she will make good compost of them both, 
and her ends are prospered whichever succeed. 
“Tf the red slayer think he slays, 
Or if the slain think he is slain, 
They know not well the subtle ways 
I keep, and pass, and turn again.”’ 
What is the end of Nature? Where is the end 
of asphere? The sphere balances at any and every 
point. So everything in Nature is at the top, and 
yet no one thing is at the top. 
She works with reference to no measure of time, 
no limit of space, and with an abundance of mate- 
